January 8, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode

The vast majority of foreign aid administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development goes through middlemen, international aid agencies or U.S.-based private companies that then distribute the assistance. Critics say the system leaves out many deserving locally-led startups and non-government groups. Fred de Sam Lazaro explores the field of health care for his series, Agents for Change.

As Syria emerges from decades of dictatorship, people in the Assad family's ancestral home of Latakia province are both overjoyed and anxious. Assad and his family are Alawite, an offshoot of Shia Islam, and the people of his former region fear the new Sunni-controlled government will target them. Leila Molana-Allen reports from Assad’s hometown, a crumbling vestige of the regime.

The tenure of Pete Buttigieg atop the Department of Transportation is coming to an end this month at a critical juncture for many of the industries the agency oversees. Buttigieg juggled crises in the rail and airline industries and oversaw the distribution of billions of dollars in funding from Biden’s infrastructure bill. Geoff Bennett sat down with Buttigieg as he prepares to leave office.

In our news wrap Wednesday, the Justice Department plans to release special counsel Jack Smith's findings on Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Greenland's finance minister pushed back over Trump's comments about taking control of the territory and the Israeli military says it's recovered the body of a hostage inside an underground tunnel in Gaza.

With less than two weeks left in office, the Biden administration is announcing its final shipment of weapons for Ukraine. The White House believes nearly all of this $500 million worth of weapons will arrive before the inauguration of Donald Trump, whose Ukraine envoy said they will aim for a solution within his first 100 days in office. Nick Schifrin reports.

The Eaton Fire is just one of the devastating wildfires that broke out in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday night. Winds of 70 to 80 mph allowed it to quickly spread over thousands of acres. Geoff Bennett discussed the latest with Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin.

Wildfires accelerated by historically strong winds have created extreme conditions for millions of people in the Los Angeles region. More than 100,000 people have evacuated their homes because of four different fires. Stephanie Sy reports from Los Angeles.